TIL that my train's backup generator failed during a 45 minute delay and nobody knew what to do

Last Thursday my 7:15 AM commuter train out of Newark lost power halfway to the city and sat dead on the tracks for almost an hour. The conductor announced the backup generator was supposed to kick in but it just sputtered and died too, so we had no lights or AC in the dark. Should transit crews practice emergency generator drills more often or is this just a rare fluke that happens sometimes?

2 comments

2 Comments

ellis.rose22d ago

Bet the problem isn't really the generator itself but that nobody on that crew had ever been told what to do if both power sources went out at the same time.

kelly96822d ago

Respectfully, I think you might be jumping to conclusions there. Proper training helps, but a generator failing to start when needed is a mechanical issue, not a training one.